Family: The Prequel
by Yami Dragoness of Dark
Summary: Prequel to Family! How Xanxus and Squalo really met, where did Xiana come from, what happened after the ring conflict? All these answers and more in Family: The Prequel! X/S love forever!


Yami: Hello my bitches! I promised someone a long time ago I would post how Xanxus and Squalo got together. Well, after a long writers block, I managed to write it.

Kenshin: With the help of Inuko, a friend of hers, who beta-ed.

Yami: Now, let's not waste time with ideal chitchat. Read it, love it, LOVE MEH!

Kenshin: Don't own the Reborn characters, however, characters made by Yami are hers, don't steal. And don't sue.

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**Family: The Prequel**

The house was loud, as usual. Children were running around, screaming at each other, shrieking, crying, and laughing. A few adults were attempting the impossible task of stopping them. As stated above, it was impossible, because when you give children sugar, especially Lussuria's very best, three layer, triplet chocolate cake, with devil food cake for the center, dark chocolate icing on the outside, chocolate mousse filling, with milk chocolate and truffles proudly proclaiming it to be Squalo's birthday, you'll never get them settled down till after a _lot_ of running on their part, and screaming on your part.

"Happy birthday Squalo," Dino said, as the children made around revolution around the room, Xiana in the led with little Xixi on her shoulders. "Having fun I see."

Squalo glared at him, trying to balance the two newest additions to the family in his arms. In actuality, his birthday had been over a month ago, but he'd spent the month before that, and this latest month in the hospital in a bad state. The twins, Xike, and Xick, who had been born on Squalo's actual birthday, had spent the past month with their mother in ICU. But finally, the danger had passed, Squalo's three parts blood cell count was normal, and he wasn't in any danger of suddenly dropping dead, and the two and a half month early twins had gained the necessary weight required to go home. So here they all were, having a very late party, celebrating Squalo's birthday and the three's survival.

"Sure, _tons_ of fun. I think these two got Xanxus's psychotic nature, they're making my life miserable." Right on cue, the twins started crying. "Shit! Hold Xike will you?"

"Which one is Xike?"

"The one on the left."

"I thought that was Xick."

"Fuck! Can't any of you tell them apart?" He shoved Xike into the blonde's arms, and bounced Xick, trying to silence him first since he's always the one who started things. It took thirty minutes and Xanxus taking his other son before the twins finally fell silent. By this time, the other children, Xanxus's and Squalo's other three included, had run over to see what had disturbed the littlest of their group. "It's all your fault," Squalo informed Xanxus.

"It's always my fault. Everything is my fault. Does that mean I get credit for getting us together?" The Varia boss asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"No! That was me!"

"Bull shit."

"You sent me into a coma!"

"Indirectly."

"Fag."

"Bitch."

"Man whore."

"Bigender whore."

The twins disappeared from their parents' arms. Kyoko gave them both a hard glare, which silenced them instantly. "No more of that around the new born babies!" Smartly, neither mentioned the copious amounts of cussing they normally did around their kids. After a minute of glaring, Kyoko handed the babies back to their parents, and sat down in a neighboring chair. Her son, Tsumitsu Giotto, known to family as Giotto, quickly climbed into her lap.

"Hey mamma," Xiale called, squeezing himself onto his mother's lap. "How did you and papà get together?"

The room instantly fell silent as everyone turned to watch the pair for their answer. Almost everyone in the room had questioned how those two violent, crude, rude, emotionally retarded people ever got together.

The two in question sent each other a brief look, which contained a completely silent but heated talk. Finally, Squalo spoke, "It's his fault really."

"How old were we? You were fourteen, right?" Xanxus asked. Squalo nodded.

"When I first saw this bastard, it wasn't any of that love at first sight shit. More like…infatuation?"

"Perfect word. He wouldn't leave me alone, and then the fight with the old bastard…" Both burst out in laughter. For a very long moment, everyone looked at each other, confounded, while the two laughed. A clearing of the throat before Xanxus continued.

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**-Flashback-**

The kid was short, skinny, with long limbs, and an almost female physique. How he'd beaten the first sword emperor, Xanxus had no idea, but he was beyond impressed…mentally. Outwardly, all he showed was annoyance on his face. The idiot kept saying he wanted Xanxus to be the Varia's leader. Why? The kid…what the fuck was his name…Squalo! That's it. Why did Squalo want Xanxus to lead him? He had the respect of all the Varia and most of the mafia world right now. He could do anything he wanted, go anywhere he desired…and yet, here he was, giving it all to Xanxus.

"You're an idiot," Xanxus informed him. Squalo smirked, ignoring the blood pouring from a wound on his forehead.

"I'm not meant to be a big leader, like you," he said. "You're the ninth's son; you were raised to lead a thousand men. Besides, I won't serve under anyone else."

A pause.

"I stand corrected. You're gay."

"Says the only one of the ninth's sons who hasn't slept with thirty some women."

Oh. Burn. Xanxus hadn't, like all his older brothers, slept with any number of women. He hadn't even touched one except for maybe kick them away if they got too close. He hated women, especially after his mother had just dumped him with his father in a strange place. She had never been the best mother anyways. Besides, women were trouble. Enrico had to get married soon because he'd gotten one pregnant. Xanxus had a running bet with his other brothers how long before Enrico killed her, because all they did was fight.

For some reason, the comment made Xanxus laugh, loud and harsh. Finally, he pulled a fist back, and slammed it into Squalo's stomach. The smaller boy doubled over, making odd gasping, choking sounds as his body fought to get his diaphragm working again. "I think I'll take you up on both your offers." Silver eyes stared at him, confusion making the silver pools swim. The ninth's youngest son smirked. "Night night trash."

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His eyes snapped open, as though waking from a nightmare. Perhaps it had been a nightmare. All he could remember was a sword about to come down on his neck and being unable to move. With a sigh, Squalo tried to sit up. The overwhelming pain had him on his back, crying out. The door opened not a second afterwards, as though someone had been _waiting_ outside the door. Creepy. A flamboyant looking man with sunglasses and the dumbest hair came shashaing in. Squalo gaped.

"Poor Squalo-chaaan," the man cooed, pulling out a first aid kit from nowhere. "Boss told us you'd be in pain when you woke up."

"Voooi!!" he screamed loud enough to make the man winch, "Who the fuck are you?"

A giggle. The man _giggled_. "I'm Lussuria," he said with a wave of his hand. "I handle all the household chores since no one else enjoys them." The blank look Squalo gave him said volumes. "Don't give me that look Squalo-chan. I've got some nice morphine, and it'll kill the pain for the next few hours. Once I give it to you, you've got to get up and go see Boss. He demanded it." Without waiting for a response, the gaytard pulled out a needle and thrust it into the crock of Squalo's elbow. The teen didn't winch, but it was a close thing. Pulling out the needle, Lussuria bent the head, and threw it into a little red carton. "Now, off with you. Do you want an escourt?"

"I'm not a fucking girl!" Squalo snarled, getting up as the morphine slowly took effect. "I don't need an escort."

The surprised look on the medic's face spoke as much as Squalo's previous blank look. "Oh, I'm sorry! You just looked so pretty, I thought…" A kick to his head shut the idiot up.

With a final farewell, "Fag!" Squalo left the room, and went in search of 'The Boss'. He already had a pretty good idea who it was.

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It ended up taking thirty minutes to get to the office because Squalo had a pretty bad sense of direction while inside buildings and unable to see the sun. Given that, he got lost. Six times. Luckily, there were enough idiots running around that there was always someone to ask where the office was. At last, he stood in front of the door that held the Varia's new leader.

He knocked.

"What?"

Most people would have entered slowly, especially if they were injured, and the man behind the door had been the one to knock them out. Sadly, Squalo didn't have much common sense. He threw open the door and strolled in, kicking the abused wood shut again. "Voooi! What the fuck do you want?"

Xanxus looked up from the papers on his desk, spotted Squalo, and smirked. "Watch your fucking mouth, trash shark."

"Make me fag!" The look in Xanxus's eyes was getting a little weird. Squalo changed tactics and repeated his previous question, "What the fuck do you want?"

Instead of answering, Xanxus simply stood up and sauntered over to Squalo, who suddenly felt very nervous. Perhaps talking to the guy like he just had hadn't been the smartest idea. Well, no one ever said he got top marks in school, but really he should have known better, and why the hell was he scared, the bastard wouldn't hurt him…right?

They were barely three inches apart now, Xanxus smirking down at Squalo, who had to crane his neck to look up at the older man. Well, not really a man yet, he was only sixteen, but still…the bastard was tall! A hand reached out for him. Out of reflex built by years of getting by on his own, and past experiences, Squalo tensed, preparing to fight. Instead, the hand slid to cradle the back of his head, fingers tangling in his silver locks. Before he could even conceive an idea of what was going on, his lips had been smashed against Xanxus's. He froze. The morphine decided to kick in now, and against his will, his muscles began to relax. It had nothing to do at all with the wonderful feeling of his lips against Xanxus's or the delicious taste of the older teen. Without consent of his brain, he moaned…

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"Okay!" Hana exclaimed, blushing. "Skip this part, there are innocent children here!"

Xanxus snorted. "Where?" Squalo hit him. "Fine."

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"Knew you were a fag," Squalo grumbled into the pillow. The two were lying on Xanxus's bed, quiet comfortable, with the black sheets pooling around their waists, and the warmth of their bodies keeping each other warm.

"Takes one to know one," retorted Xanxus childishly.

"Fuck you."

A derisive snort sounded from the new Varia boss, and the next second, Squalo found himself pulled against a strong chest. "Don't tempt me."

("I said none of that!"

"Oh please, we didn't do it again."

"That night…"

Laughter.

"Moving on!"

"Fine…bitch.")

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The Varia were a strange group, as Squalo quickly figured out. Filled with deranged idiots, and murderous psychos. The youngest of them being the little eight year old named Bel. Completely ignorant in everything but murder, torture, and violence. So when he happened upon the newly formed couple one day, he made the mistake of asking what they were doing. After being roughly kicked out of the room, and ordered away, he went to find Mammon, who seemed to know everything. Mammon wouldn't stop laughing long enough to answer the boy's inquiries, so the little prince asked Lussuria. Their secret was out from that moment on.

Still…that didn't stop them. The only thing that did was Xanxus getting frozen in a block of ice a few months later.

"Don't worry," Lussuria sighed, when he found Squalo sitting in front of the iron box that contained a frozen Xanxus. "We'll get him back. Why don't you come upstairs Squalo-chan. It's cold down here."

"Fuck off."

Another sigh. Lussuria left. Squalo continued to glare at the ceiling, his back pressed up against the freezing metal. Fuck the ninth. Fuck him and his lies! He'd make Xanxus the next tenth Vongola if it was the last thing he did! "I won't serve under anyone else," Squalo announced aloud. "Not even the fucking ninth." Of course, Xanxus couldn't hear him. Letting lose a colorful splurge of words, Squalo wrapped his arms around his knees and hid his face in them.

("Were you crying?"

"Fuck no! I was too pissed off to cry! Besides, I never cry."

"Bull shit!"

"Shut up!")

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Eight years. Eight long fucking years! Frozen in a fucking block of ice! He could hear people talking around him and someone trying to pull him into a sitting position. All he could do was shiver. His whole body felt frozen to the core, and every hand that touched him felt like acid dripping onto him. The burning was almost unbearable.

"Stop touching him! Get a fucking blanket! Now Levi! That's an order!"

"He's awake now, you aren't the boss."

"Lussuria, get a blanket!" Something warm but not burning wrapped around him. Now when the hands and arms wrapped around him, they didn't hurt so much. "Xanxus! Vooooi! Boss, open your fucking eyes!" He did so, blinking when bright lights sent white hot pain through his cranium. Once his eyes adjusted, he was greeted with the vision of five people standing before him. The main members of the Varia. The closest one was Squalo. Or someone who _looked_ like Squalo. He had the same face, though it was thinner, more defined, and the eyes were the same silver, never changing. But his hair!

With a hoarse voice, rusty with so many years of not using, Xanxus spoke, "You look like a fucking girl."

Squalo fell over, the others snickered.

"You shit head! Is that all you have to sa…" A fist came in contact with his head, silencing him. "Voooi!"

"Shut the fuck up, fucking trash!" Xanxus roared, pushing Squalo away. He got to his feet, stumbled, then straightened up and surveyed the men around him. Everyone had grown. Everyone was taller, except Mammon, but he never changed. "What time is it?" he asked, as though he had only just fallen asleep.

Everyone glanced at each other. Squalo wisely kept his mouth shut. Finally, Lussuria said, "You've been sleeping for eight years Boss."

Fuck.

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Squalo stared down at his wrists. Both of them were red and sore. The rest of him wasn't any better. Bruises and bites, even cuts. Little things like that wouldn't keep him down, but they bothered him. Xanxus had never been a gentle lover, and the shark doubted that he ever could be gentle with another living thing. But ever since he'd woken up he'd been very…violent wasn't the word. He was always violent, and rude, and selfish, not to mention very childish at times, and had the horrible habit of throwing things at people. But he'd become a lot worse. More violent, ruder, more selfish, just worse in all aspects. Hardly a day went by where he didn't throw at least five things, be they paper weights, glasses of whisky or scotch, a chair, maybe a side table. And whenever they made love…actually, now it was just sex, plain old lusty sex, Xanxus was almost cruel. He drew the line at complete physical abuse, but it was a very near thing. Back in the old days, before the Big Freeze, they'd stay in the same bed afterwards, now Xanxus usually kicked Squalo out, or left, depending on whose room they made it to.

He touched his right wrist and winched. Sprained, at most, pulled tendon at the least. This was getting ridiculous. Perhaps he should try talking to the bastard…

A humorless laugh forced its way past Squalo's lips. Bastard. That was Xanxus was. He wasn't even the ninth's son. This was stupid. It was so damn ironic. Why was he even bothering to try to get that jackass the Vongola throne anymore? It would never happen…but…

The door to the room banged open. Xanxus stormed in, kicking the door shut again. He didn't say a word, didn't even acknowledge Squalo's presence, he just threw himself onto the bed, and laid there on his stomach, for all the world like a man sick and tired of life.

For a moment, the two didn't say or do anything. Squalo watched Xanxus, who was just lying there like this was his room, and he had a right to be here. Slowly, Squalo moved closer to the scarred man. His fingers lazily traced one of the scars on Xanxus's neck. Taking that for an invitation, Xanxus turned over and put his head in Squalo's lap. Long fingers ran through his ebony hair, and traced the scars littering his face, even the ones invisible till he became angry.

"Tired?"

"Fucking idiots, all of them," grunted Xanxus. "Why the fuck do they bother asking me what to do when they don't even listen? All of them, trash."

Squalo brushed his lips against his bedmate's forehead. Red eyes languidly opened to gaze into silver ones. He reached up and gently tugged at Squalo's silver locks. "At least you do what I tell you to."

The swordsman nodded, not willing to do something to upset the man. This was it. These were the moments, the reason why he was determined to keep going, no matter what blood said. Xanxus might be a no good, violent bastard, but he was the only man Squalo would ever serve.

Eyelids drooped, and slowly, the crimson eyes closed. After another few minutes, the hand tangled in the silver strands went lax, and fell to the bed. Squalo smiled slightly as he looked down at the peaceful face of his sleeping boss. This was about the only times he relaxed. No frowns, no glares. The lines between his eyes, what his mother had called "worry lines" and what his grandmother had called the "I want" lines, were gone, leaving a peaceful expression.

("Aww! That's so romantic!"

"Fuck Squalo, stop talking like a girl!"

"Shut up! Leave me alone you horny bastard!"

"Okay, how about we move on?"

"Ring conflict! Ring conflict!"

"Shut up brat!")

It should have been easy. Go after the stupid kid, get the rings, and bring them back. Xanxus didn't know _how_ in the fucking world Squalo had screwed it up! Did he not _check_ that the rings were real? This was the first time the shark had ever failed a mission, and no one was letting him forget it. All the way to Japan and to one of the many mansions and houses hidden throughout the world that the Vongola has, they'd all teased and laughed at him. Except Gola Mosca, but he was fucking robot and didn't talk. Thank god for small favors right? That night, Xanxus had made sure Squalo understood exactly how angry he was.

("I said no…"

"I'm _not_ going to tell that part! Will you shut the fuck up and stop interrupting?!")

Lussuria laughed gaily as Squalo walked into the living room the next day, limping. "Had a good night?"

"Voooi! Shut up fag!" snarled the shark. He let his body drop heavily onto one of the plush couches, cringing as the movement agitated his back. "Stupid, no good, horny bastard."

"What's that Squalo-chan?" inquired the Sun guardian innocently.

The look Squalo gave him could have frozen fire. Sadly, the flaming idiot didn't feel the iced glare, and instead just laughed. "Do you want some ice for that burn?"

It was obviously meant as a joke, albeit a poor one, but the sad thing was Squalo took him seriously, and answered with his own question of, "Which one?" Lussuria gaped. Winching, Squalo pulled up his white button up shirt to reveal a large collection of small burns and bruises decorating his pale skin. Lussuria left and returned a few minutes later with some cream, lotion, and some ice packs.

This is getting out of hand, Squalo thought to himself as the flamboyant martial artist treated his wounds.

("That's abuse!"

"Stop interrupted the flashbacks!"

"Skip ahead! Show the flashback at the end of the conflict!"

"Will you shut up!?")

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"Let me go!" Squalo roared, struggling to get free from the bandages that bound him to the stupid wheelchair. "I said let me go now!"

"Stop struggling," Dino ordered, "you're going to tear a stitch!"

"I don't care!" he yelled, pulling at the restraints with all his meager strength. "Let me go! Let me go!"

All around them, people were moving and yelling. The other Varia were people tied up, and restrained in the center of the field. Medics had arrived to take the injured away, including the future tenth Vongola, the stupid little brat! They left Lussuria, the unconscious Levi, and Xanxus with Mammon and Bel, all of whom were under supervision. The brats guardians were waiting for someone to tell them what to do, be it Reborn, or Dino, or some other adult. Squalo had half a mind to tell them to go die. But he had more important things to do. Like get to Xanxus.

"Squalo please stop!" Now the Bronco was begging. "You're going to make things worse! If you pull anything that…"

"Fuck you!" Squalo screamed, now trying to tug his legs free. They weren't moving, and he could feel a growing pain in his chest the more he struggled. "Let me fucking go!"

"Squalo, getting yourself killed now won't do any good," said Dr. Shamal, pulling what looked like a needle from his pocket. "Keep it up and I'll stick you with this."

"Shut up man whore! For the last fucking time! Let me fucking go!" With one last vicious tug he managed to free his right hand and reached for his left to remove that binding. The pain in his chest was increasing rapidly. One of the Cervello girls told him to stop, as he would not be allowed to enter the arena now.

"Take him back to the hospital," she told Dino. "He's causing too much of a fuss."

He nodded. "Come one Squalo; let's get you back to bed."

The bandages around his left arm finally tore and he started to stand.

"Squalo stop!"

"Sedate him now!"

"Hold him down!"

"Let me go you fuckers!" Something sharp dug into his arm. "Let me go! I wanna be with them! Fuck you all, let me be with my Family!" The pain in his chest was disabling now. He couldn't breathe. His heart was pounding so hard against his ribs, it felt like they were being bruised.

"He tore open the stitches!"

"Quickly! Stop the bleeding! Dr. Shamal _help!_"

"Squalo! Squalo don't die on us now."

"Let…me…g…" The last thing he heard were the panicked cries of the idiots around him before he was pulled back into the black abyss.

("I hate this next part, let's skip it."

"Give me back the remote!"

"Holy shit! Xanxus! You broke the fourth wall!"

"We _are_ doing the next part bitches! Muwahahahaha! Dance puppets! Dance!")

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Waking up was a painful affair. His chest hurt so bad, and something was shoved down his throat so he couldn't even swallow the annoying amount of spit that had accumulated in his mouth to wet said throat. Even the tiniest movements he tried, like moving his fingers, sent white hot fire through his veins. At least he could open his eyes and look around. Same white hospital room with the disgusting tile ceiling, and old looking vent that had suspicious gray stuff growing on it.

The only difference was the person in the room. Instead of Dino and his right hand man, it was Xanxus. He looked as bad as Squalo felt. There were bandages wrapped around his head, red tainting the virgin white. His left arm was in a sling, and under the jacket he'd thrown over his shoulders to keep off the hospital chill, he was bare-chested, with more bandages wrapped tightly around what were probably a few broken ribs. There were bruises everywhere, and stitched up cuts that would turn into more scars to add to his collection.

Squalo tried to make a sound, but the only thing he could do was sigh. And it hurt like hell.

"Don't bother speaking you shit-based trash." The venom that dripped from Xanxus's words surprised Squalo. His words were always rude, and usually said with the intent to insult and hurt, but never had he heard such coldness in them. "I should kill you now; I wish the fucking shark had done you in so I didn't have to deal with you anymore." Silver eyes widened. "Bet you thought it was pretty fucking funny to go along with all this. You _knew_ I wasn't the ninth's son! What? Just did it for kicks?"

He tried to shake his head and found he couldn't move his neck.

Large, callused hands grabbed his hair, and pulled hard. "I'm going to make you life a fucking hell when you get out of here," Xanxus snarled, giving the silver locks another harsh tug. "Got that you stupid whore!?" With one final pull, he let go and left the room without another word.

("Wow you were a jackass."

"Oh shut up. It's her fault!"

"Stop breaking the forth wall!")

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It was two months before he was released from the hospital. Two long, quiet months, during which his only visitors were Dino, Yamamoto who brought sushi when he could actually eat solid foods again, and even the stupid Tenth brat, which just pissed Squalo off more. Luckily, the brat only came once, just to make sure he hadn't died. The other Varia, especially his own squad, visited from time to time, but everyone knew that Xanxus was angry at Squalo, and it was healthiest to avoid what Xanxus was mad at, least his anger turn on you.

Lussuria, Bel, and the ninth's cousin, the head housekeeper Anita, came to get him. Bel was uncharacteristically quiet, and kept glancing over at Squalo, who was being fussed over by the old lady and the gay idiot. The plane ride was uncomfortable, and the closer they got to Italy, the more nervous Squalo got. When the plane landed, he had a sickly green tint to his skin. No one was there to greet them when they got home. Bel left as soon as they got through the front doors. Anyone they passed glared at the two Varia members, and Squalo was sure that if Anita hadn't been there, they would have done more than just glare.

His room was just like always, warm and welcoming to him, with his clothes in the closet, and his DVDs and CDs organized on their shelves along with some books on various subjects. Anita and Lussuria helped him into bed. Lussuria left, Anita stayed. "I'm going to be taking care of you till you're back on your feet," she told him when he asked. "I'm the only one with a key to your room, which will otherwise remain locked at all times."

"…thanks…"

The old woman smiled kindly, "No trouble sweetie. I figure you can use some company too."

"Aren't you angry?"

She assumed her usual seen-it-all attitude that she always wore whenever something weird, like walking in on Xanxus and Squalo having a hot make out session, happened. Squalo slept while Anita knitted, comforted by the woman's presence. No one, not even Xanxus, was stupid enough to cross her path.

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It was two weeks before Squalo could get out of bed on his own, another week before he could walk, and it was probably going to be at least two weeks before he could train again. Until that time, the doctors suggested he take it easy. However, the phrase "take it easy" doesn't appear in the same sentence as Squalo unless "doesn't" is between them. A week before his release from rest, Squalo had snuck out of his room and to the dojo on the same floor. The Varia was restricted to the second floor of their wing, where their rooms and main quarters were.

For five days, Squalo snuck out, and trained all day without getting caught by anyone. Most members stayed in their rooms, finding ways to entertain themselves. Without any contact from the outside world allowed, and little contact with other similar minded people, the Varia wing was very quiet with no mass amounts of damage caused by fights. So it took Squalo by surprise when, on his sixth day training, someone entered the dojo while he was there. He continued going through his movements, hoping the person would either leave, or go to the other side of the room. What he didn't expect was to be thrown to the floor and…

("Pause!"

"Hey, it was getting good!"

"No rape scenes this time, sorry Xanxus."

"Now who's breaking the forth wall."

"Silence bitch.")

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Life had taken on a truly hellish form, just as Xanxus had promised. Not only were people afraid to even be near him, but every night. Every single fucking night, Xanxus pretty much _raped_ him! And was he gentle? Oh hell no! It wasn't just rape, it was violent rape! He couldn't walk right for half the next day. And Xanxus could do this _every fucking night_ because the ninth wasn't going to allow _any_ Varia member to go on a mission until Squalo got the okay from the doctor, which was in another week. Hur-fucking-ray.

The others noticed something was wrong, but none said anything. Any mention would rile up Xanxus, who would then start throwing things and then everyone had to run and hide. Jackass.

Lussuria blinked as he stared at the person who had the courage to knock on his door. Squalo, looking positively pathetic with a large bruise covering half his face, and a split lip. He was clutching his right arm, which was swelling and purple. "Squalo-chaaan!? What happened?" he asked in a coo of a voice. Squalo muttered something along the lines of Xanxus but wouldn't say anything else. Lussuria allowed him into his domain of gayness and patched him up as best he could. He couldn't do anything for the bruises, but the new burns that had appeared and the multiple cuts got an application of antibiotics, and his arm was wrapped up and put into a sling. Once fixed up, he sent the poor kid on his way.

The next day the same thing happened again, though this time there was a large burn across Squalo's stomach that looked pretty bad. He fixed him up, and sent him on his way.

For the next week Squalo appeared at Lussuria's room everyday with new injuries, burns, cuts, bruises, pulled muscles, a broken finger. All the signs of abuse, yet every time Lussuria tried to get Squalo to talk, he wouldn't say anything. So he patched him up best he could, and sent the swordsman on his way.

The time limit was up. The ninth was sending the Varia out on missions again. There was a large amount of them that had piled up while the Varia was unable to leave their wing. Squalo was to do the easier ones, still being rather weak after almost three months in bed and only about two training. Lussuria had also requested Squalo be given easy missions, and after seeing the state the young man was in, the ninth knew why.

"You look dreadful, what happened?" he asked. Squalo shrugged. Anita repeated the question. Squalo looked away and mumbled something about falling down the stairs. Neither believed him.

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("My god! You were an ass!")

"Shut. Up!"

"He's right, you were."

"You shut up too bitch! Just get on with it!"

"Are you annoyed that I'm not putting sex in here?"

"…"

"That's a yes. Okay, let's continue.")

It was supposed to be an easy mission. A simple one. But whether because Xanxus hadn't given Squalo _all_ the information about the mission, or because the informant had lied, or even because Squalo was going in with a broken arm, no one was sure. It might have been all three. All anyone knew was that two of Squalo's squadron brought him in, unconscious, and bleeding heavily from a massive head wound and a bullet hole through the abdomen. He was brought to the infirmary, and for the first and last time ever, Lussuria yelled at Xanxus.

"If you hadn't been so hard on him…!"

"He's a fucking bastard! He betrayed me!"

"He never did and you know that Boss!"

"Fuck you trash! Get the hell away from me!"

"No!" The sound of skin connecting with skin at a high velocity echoed through the room. Everyone turned to stare. Xanxus stood there, stunned, his head turned to one side, cheek red. Lussuria looked mad. "I always knew it was you hurting poor Squalo-chan! But he didn't want anyone to help because he thought if he let you do this, you'd feel better!"

Xanxus turned to glare at him. "He…"

"Doesn't deserve what you did to him! He never betrayed you," Lussuria insisted, still yelling. "Squalo loves you very much, and that's why he followed you, even after learning the truth. I know he's told you before. He'll never serve another leader. You're his only one Boss." Standing as tall as he could, and holding his head high, he gave his boss one final cold look. "Think about that!" And with that said, he turned and left the living room. The others turned to watch Xanxus.

"What the fuck are you all looking at!?" he demanded, furious. "Get the fuck out of my sight!" They ran. Now alone in the room, Xanxus thought back. To when he'd just been released from his icy prison, and to the ring conflict, and all the other times. Squalo was always there. "Fuck…"

("Yes, here we have a perfect example of Jerkish Bastardish."

"I can kill you, you know."

"Yes you can, but I can always write worse."

"Fuck."

"Watch your language around the children!"

"Ha! You got told!"

"Finish this already!")

Waking up was always a painful ordeal when you didn't go to sleep willingly. Getting shot and then slammed against a cement floor will guarantee a painful awakening. That is what Squalo had to deal with now. And without morphine. Why the fuck wasn't there morphine!?

"If you're wondering where the morphine is, they took you off because your body was starting to become addicted," a voice said from next bed. Squalo started and turned his head. Xanxus was sitting there, perched in the chair as if it were a throne. Instinctively, Squalo drew back. "Stop being a fucking pussy, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You haven't done it enough these past few weeks?" he asked, his throat dry, and voice scratchy. Xanxus looked away. "Go away."

"What did you say to me?" Xanxus demanded.

"I said go away," Squalo repeated, looking annoyed. "Get out of here! Leave me alone! Get the fuck away! I'm tired of dealing with you and your fucking mood swings!" He turned so his back faced the Varia leader. It was the withdrawal that was making the tears appear, it had to be. Squalo was a hard core Varia assassin, he didn't cry! He didn't cry…fuck!

A warm hand touched his shoulder. He winched, and tried to shrug it off. Xanxus persisted, this time sitting on the edge of the bed. Squalo could feel the heat radiating off his unnaturally hot body, byproduct of having the dying will flame within you. How Xanxus had it, he still didn't know.

"Squalo…"

He jerked, and turned his head to look at Xanxus. He never called Squalo by his name. _Never…_well…except during sex right before he came, but that was different! Completely different! There was a gentle look on Xanxus's hard face that Squalo had never seen there before. He could still see the anger behind it, but it was…somehow less vivid. Like a smoldering flame that was about to die out. "What do you want?" he asked, softly.

Xanxus didn't answer with words, instead he leaned down and captured Squalo's lips in a gentle -_gentle!-_ kiss! He struggled for a moment, then gave in. This was nice. Just like back in the old days, when Xanxus wasn't a total jackass bent wholly on revenge and nothing else. Back when they weren't just sleeping together for a good fuck, but actually to be with each other. Sad how underage teens got the love thing down better than two grown adults.

They broke apart. Squalo put his head on Xanxus's lap, a parody of what used to be old times, when Xanxus, tired from a day's work, would rest his head in Squalo's lap and take a nap. "I hate you," Squalo informed him.

"Feelings mutual," Xanxus murmured, fingers tangling in the silver strands.

"Break my arm again and I'll cut off your dick."

"You ruined the moment."

"You ruined it when you came in here!"

"Oh shut up! Bitch! Bitch, is that all you ever do!?"

"Voooi! Get out of here fucker!"

"No!" And before Squalo could protest he was forced down onto the bed, Xanxus straddling his waist. "You want to say get out now?" he asked, smirking. He ran his fingers up Squalo's sides, making the smaller man writhe. "Hmm?" He leaned down so their lips were barely touching. "I asked you a question."

"Ngh," Squalo moaned, trying and failing to form a coherent sentence as Xanxus ground his hips against his. "X-X-Xanxus…"

"Yes?"

"…Shit…fuck me!"

"Gladly."

.

.

.

-**End Flashback**-

"Wow, go papà," Xiale exclaimed, clapping.

Squalo rolled his eyes. "Your father was an ass back then! And it took him almost a year to stop burning me every time we had sex!"

"Is that when I was conceived?" Xiana inquired.

"Actually no, the first time we had sex without him burning me was when you were conceived. We had had a party to celebrate something or another, and rum is a wonderful thing." Squalo smiled a reminiscent smile, and sighed.

Silence.

"Yeah, you guys are freaks," Gokudera sighed. He completely ignored the fact that his three sons- which he carried to term and birthed! -were right now rolling around on the floor fighting over something or another.

* * *

Yami: Lol! The story is complete! Sorry there wasn't any sex guys, but I wrote this on dad's laptop and well...when he's busy looking over your shoulder every few miutes -_-'

Kenshin: -_- it was horrible!

Yami: But I got this out.

Inuko: -pops up- HORRIBLE!! DX

Kiwi: -pops up- I'm not a kiwi!

Yami: These are my friends, Inuko, if your a Sesshomaru/Kagome fan on Dokuga, you should know her. And Kiwi is my other friend who is a purple shiny ninja fairy thing. She likes purple and shiny, and she's just like Chrome and Mukuro! Except she doesn't rape unsuspecting tunas.

Kenshin: Well everyone, R&R -gets glomped by Inuko-

Yami: We leave in one week for college, so don't expect anything else, okay. And BE GREATFUL! This was FUCKING LONG! DX

Peace and love bitches. Peace...and love.


End file.
